Ruling on school entry overturned

An oversubscribed school accused of discriminating against children from poor families has cleared its name in a landmark court ruling.

Drayton Manor High School, in Hanwell, west London, was accused by Ealing council of fuelling "social segregation" and was ordered by the Schools Adjudicator to admit more disadvantaged pupils.

The popular, successful school unfairly turned away applicants from nearby council estates on the grounds that they lived closer to other schools, the regulator said.

But a High Court judge quashed that decision, saying the adjudicator failed to give adequate reasons. Judge Stewart QC said the regulator also failed to consider the "central plank of the school's case" – that children to the east faced being disadvantaged by the changes the adjudicator himself was proposing.